If you like something…

Author Notes:Many years ago my sister married an Italian, and has spent most of her life in Italy. She recently made a dish for us of tortellini in a simple red pepper sauce, of finely minced red peppers that had been cooked until they almost dissolved, which she said was her late mother-in-law’s recipe. When I kept asking her about possible variations or additions to the recipe, she kept saying, “No, not for this,” and stressing that it is important to stick with the recipe. Well, since I’m not Italian, I took the basic recipe and changed a few things to come up with another one. It is important, though, to stick with her preparation method, and mince the sauce ingredients finely. - SallyCan —SallyCan

Food52 Review: Such a tasty pasta dish! The sauce is delicious and the red peppers add so much sweetness. You can taste summer in every bite. This would be a great dish to make if you were serving a crowd family-style, yet it's elegant enough to serve at a small, intimate dinner. I'm already looking forward to the next time I make it. - Victoria —The Editors

Cover, return heat to low, and cook on low for another 30 minutes or so, stirring occasionally and adding small amounts of water if needed. You want it to be somewhere between soupy and dry.

Remove lid, with a fork whisk in softened butter, and season with salt & pepper to taste.

Don’t cook the shrimp until just before you’re ready to serve. In clean skillet heat 1T butter and 1T olive oil on med high. Add shrimp, turn heat to high and cook for a minute, add garlic, cook for another minute or two, on both sides, until just cooked.

To serve, toss warm cooked pasta with sauce. Place sliced sausage and shrimp on top, and garnish with oregano. If you’re not Italian, feel free to serve with cheese.

Okay, here's another question. Why do you add vodka? I've heard of people adding vodka to tomato sauces, but have never tried it. (In fact, I think I even saw a jar of some sauce with vodka in a store once.) What does it do? Is there any particular kind of vodka one should use? Thank you. ;o)

Well...vodka has a way of mellowing things out! It kind of softens and evens the flavors, bringing them down a bit, without adding extra acid or flavors, as a wine would do (which was used in the original tortellini recipe). Do try it in a fresh tomato sauce; it's really fascinating how vodka changes it. Flavored vodkas ~like lemon~ can add interest, but for this recipe I like a plain vodka, since there is so much else going on. It needen't be super expensive vodka, either~I'd save that for a drink :)